i want to make a holster for 58 rem . i saw one on here that a fine wife got for her husband {i think }.it appeared to have an xtra slot for a belt in order to be worn crossdraw or dom hand draw . would like a template or or such to ensure weight distr. angle or what have you . this is the first holster i will build. and in the planning stage i encountered more variables than just folding a piece of leather and running a stitch .. can anyone direct me to a site where i can download templates or pattern or maybe even tell me how they built theirs. I really love my new hobby, would like to thank bill akins, mykeal,hawg hawken articap and others i cant remember at the moment . You have all helped to get my gears turning . diff.ideas and opinions get me to thinkin . I spend lots of time reading the posts of yesteryear .
thanks to you all

In actuality lining a holster with a soft leather like suede accelerates wear.
Leather soft or otherwise is not capable of wearing metal. What happens is that primer residue is transfered from the fired weapon to the leather and acts as an abrasive. Softer leathers trap and hold more of this residue so the wear will be somewhat quicker but inescapable in any case unless you never holster a weapon that you have fired.
A better way and one that is practical for lining a holster is to construct it of two pieces glued flesh side to flesh side. Say 4/5OZ glued to 5/6 or 7/8OZ so the grain or finished side is facing both inside and outside the holster. This makes for a firm and very durable holster.
Check out www.leatherworker.net in the holster subforum for as much information as you could want.

That's the way I make them when I line them - I use 7-8 ounce oak tanned outside and a light tooling oak tanned calfskin for the inside liner. That way, both inside and out have the smooth, or "hair side" out.

Others line with pigskin - which is less expensive, but I prefer working with the calfskin and also think it looks better.

Al Stohlman's book "How to make holsters" - which sells for about $13 - has all you need to know to get you started in this wonderful hobby.

Visiting the forums will help as well - but I'd recommend getting the book and getting started first. The forums can quickly get you spending all sorts of money on tools you really don't need for the basics.

He pointed out his own mistakes with suggestions on how he could have improved it. By showing his mistakes folks will know what to look out for when they try their own hand at it. And to top it off he didn't even buy a template, he just made it on the fly. It's a real life example of amateur holster making.

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